Mack Brown isn't a big fan of surprises in recruiting. As he'd tell you, they usually don't work out in his favor when the usual "surprises" happen in the recruiting world.

However, the Texas head coach received a nice one on Saturday that surely put a smile on his face, as Pflugerville (Texas) High defensive end Alex Okafor made it official when he took an unofficial visit to the 40 Acres.

"I think honestly think I caught him a little off guard," Okafor said. "I don't think he expected me to commit then. He was really excited about it though. He told me, "We're going to do big things here.' It's exciting."

With the defensive end position ranking as one of the most important needs in the 2009 recruiting class, it was important for the Longhorns to land the state's top available talent.

Hammer meet nail.

Me and my family have been talking the last few weeks and we just felt like Texas had the best combination of athletics, academics, location, weather - everything."

According to Okafor, the visit on Saturday proved to be the final factor in his decision.

"That's really what made our decision," Okafor said. "I knew I wanted to commit after we got down there. That was all I needed."

The 6-4, 230-pound Okafor selected the Longhorns over Stanford and LSU after taking visits to all three schools within the last month. Those visits allowed Okafor to make a full and complete decision, even if he didn't any official visits before making his decision.

"If I hadn't gone to check out the places I did, I probably wouldn't have committed this early," Okafor said. "I have always been, I guess, a Texas lean, but going to those places allowed me to compare them to Texas and it helped me see everything that Texas has . IT helped me see what I wanted.